Electric clock



N. COLLINS.

ELECTRIC CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25.19l9.

1,363, 11; Patented Dec. 28,1920.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, llonimn CoLLINs, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at London, in the con "y of London, Engla l, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clocks, of which the followin is a speciiication- This invention relates to ele ric clocks of the type in which the oscill. of tlie pendulum are maintained by an net attracting an armature ied to bob of the pendulum or vice versa, an which a pivoted pawl or wiper is carried by the pendulum or by part oscillating therewith, so that it passes to and fro over a pallet or block mounted upon spring, in such a manner that the pallet only engaged by the pawl or wiper w ion the plitude of the oscillations falls below a p edetermined minimum, whereupon the wiper engages witl the pallet and causes the spring to come against a moving con ct carried by the pendulum, thus complet an electrical circuit, ener f sing; the iet and causing the armature to be attracted in order to keep the clock in motio In the practical method of worn of the before mentioned descript' ous drawbacks or imperfections have seen observed.

For instance with the lmown cons ructions, the contact has not bee broken at precisely the proper instant, the result being that the electroma 'net l. the armature for too long a time, putti certain it of brake upon the penduium, thus. leading to loss or" electrical energy and consequent exhaustion of the dry cell the like, sooner than would otherwise be the case,

In some instances also the cur ent as been conducted down the pendulum to the contact device an arrangement which is found undesirable as it is likely to lead to fusing and consequent b1 we of the circuit.

My present invention relat proved construction in whicl making mechanism is so constricted and arranged that the circuit is I l n exactly when the penoulum swings through the vertical, so that no brake is put upon its upward movement.

iectroma,

to an in I also prefer to provide two separate 3; arn or their equivalents, insulated ron one another and each in connection tie battery.

one pole Ol Both these are controucd by the pallet and the so that when they are operated therend contact making spring in the View showing the relaie parts. when the oscillalum falls below a certain ilar view showing the po- "lby the parts when the consame letters of reference are employed to denote the same parts in all the a is the usual swinging arm provided with pins or pro ections 7) which engage the pendulum or part oscillating therewith. 0 is a fro moving hanging pawl, usually termed the wiper, carried by arm a. (Z i post or support pr w from the orh and carrying a light suitable spring metal 0 other T7150- is a stop ior limiting oownward movement when required, of .p e. g is a projecting block or pallet ed by the strip 6. This pallet is provided with a notch 17b and is curved or bevthe taco 7.3, shown clearly in the flat spring d"-- m is a block of electrically insula material mounted on the uncer side strip a which block in turn carries two strips n and p of conducting material, hoped as shown. The ends q and c; y r of these strips are connected electrically to a battery 8 or other source of power and in this circuit is disposed the magnet 25 which restores the amplitude of the oscillation.

in the drawing the magnet is merely inicated diagrammatically as its use and location are pe t'ectly well known. Under ordinary circumstances it is placed vertically below the bob of the pendulum and the armature is mounted on the pendulum; but of course a combination of magnets may be used wl ich exert an attractive force vertically below the or suspension 01" the pendulum. The outer ends a and w of the strips are arranged as shown, and is to be observed that they terminate in the vertical line. a? is a projecting pin of clectncally conducting material carried by the arm a in such a position that it rubs against the springs 72. and when they are depressed.

'l he action oi the mechanism w ll be readily understood.

ii hen the pendulum swin s through an predeterminable amplitude, that is a certain minimum, the lower end of hanging wiper c trails up the surface 70 he pal et and passes entirely over the l "winging down on the other side by the arrow 2. When however mph; .dc of the oscillation falls below ttermined m nimum, the end of the -oes not entirely clear the pallet 9, he end of the upwarc swing remains notch 75- as seen at Fig 2, the result is tha" upon the downward swing, the wiper causes the strip 0 to be depressed, thus bringing down the ends a and w of the springs 11. and 2) into the path or" the pin :0, which as it is carried by the arm (4 causes a rubbing electrical coi act be made thus completing the electric circuit and energizing the magnet 25.

Owin the fact that the springs a and to terminate in the vertical line. the circuit is broken at the instant that the pendulum pas es through the vertical, and no brake is put upon the armature due to the continuance the flow of the current.

will be understood. that the particular arrangement just described and illustrated in tne accompanying drawing is given merely way of example, as various modifications may be made without departing from the p iciple of my invention.

r or instance the wiper, as in the older constructions, may cause only one contact making spring such as u to be operated, the circuit being completed through the pendulum, but in any case the spring is made of such length that the circuit is broken as the pendulum passes through the vertical. It is obviously not essential to terminate the Contact spri or so in the itical line, the GSSL tial point being that the rubbing contact making pin oscillated by the pendulum shall leave the contact making spring or sprin s as the pendulum swings through the vertical.

instead of using a spring contact making arm or arms, I may use one or more rigid spring controlled arms for the rubbing contact.

What I claim as my invention and desire LO secure by Letters Patent ot the United tates oi America, is

1. In a horological instrument, a frame, a swinging member supported thereby, a pawl pivotally carried by said member, a movable contact, a fixed contact on said mcm her, an operating strip carried by said frame for operating said movable contact, and a block on said operating strip projecting into the path of travel of said pawl and adapted to be engaged by the free end of said pawl when the amplitude of oscillation of said swinging member falls below a predetermined minimum tor forcing said strip downwardly to bring said movable contact into the path of travel of the contact on said} swinging member, substantially as described.

2. in a horological instrument, a frame, a source of current, on electric motor in electrical connection therewith, a swinging member supported by said frame and adapted to be oscillated by said motor, a pawl pivotally carried by said member, a movable contact, a fixed contact on said member, a resilient operating strip carried by said frame for operating said movable contact, and a block on said strip projecting into the path of travel of said pawl and adapted to be engaged by the free end of said pawl when the amplitude of oscillation of the swinging member falls below a predetermined minimum for forcing said strip downwardly to bring the movable contact into the path of travel of the contact on the swinging member to close the circuit to said motor, substantially as described.

In a horological instrument, a frame, a swingin member supported thereby, a pawl pivotally carried by said member, movable conta t, a fixed contact on said member, an operating strip carried by said frame for operating said movable contact, and a block on said operating strip projecting into the path of travel of said pawl and adapted to be engaged by the free end of said pawl when the amplitude of oscillation of said swinging member falls below a predetermined minimum for forcing said strip downwardly to brin said movable contact into the path of travel or" the contact 011 said swinging member, said contact being made and broken when the swinging member is in substantially vertical position, substantially as described.

In a horological instrument, a frame, a swinging member supported thereby, a pawl pivotally carried by said member, a movable contact, a fixed contact on said member, and means extending into the path of travel of said pawl and adapted to be engaged by the free end thereof When the amplitude of oseillation of the swinging member falls below a predetermined minimum for forcing the movable contact into the path of travel of the contact on said swinging member, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

NORMAN COLLINS. 

